26-year old man sets up travel agency with money from the state

Silviu Andrei Petran, a 26-year old graduate of a tourism college and a sales employee with a telecom multinational, is one of the young people who will get 10,000 euros in non-repayable funding from the state to develop a niche business in the tourism industry.

The sum only covers 15% in the value of investments in a travel agency, so that Petran hopes to get a 40,000-euro loan from UniCredit Țiriac Bank, which, together with his savings of 20,000 euros should be the starting point for the development of a business targeting people with incomes of above 1,000 euros per month and with an adventurous spirit.

The state allotted 21m lei (5m euros) for the scheme meant to spur the setting up and development of microenterprises by young entrepreneurs, through which entrepreneurs aged up to 35 years can get funding of as much as 10,000 euros for the opening of a business.

Petran says that without the help of a consultant he could not have interpreted the data accurately or submitted a business plan with a certain structure and following certain criteria.